In Ohio, Buckeye football is king. Especially with USC coming to town.
So big, in fact, they moved the Nike's 5 Days 2 Friday national showcase game featuring the Glenville Tarblooders out of Cleveland at the Wayne Warriors of Huber Heights from Saturday to Friday night.
Don’t conflict with the Buckeyes.
But according to Wayne coach Jay Minton, there’s plenty to be excited about between these two traditional Ohio powers.
“Friday night is going to be pretty exciting around here,” Minton told MaxPreps reporters Nick Reasons and Karl Wilhelm. “It’s going to be rockin.’ “
For a high school football coach to say ‘rockin,’ there no doubt will be some fireworks.
Both teams are loaded with Division I talent, the most visible is actually a junior in Wayne quarterback Braxton Miller, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound dual threat some have predicted will be the heir apparent to current Ohio State starter and former MaxPreps National Player of the Year Terrelle Pryor.
Braxton Miller, Wayne
File photo by Wayne Litmer
Miller hasn’t even committed yet to Ohio State, but a strong pull exists to keep him local.
Did we mention they moved up this game a day just so the locals could watch USC-Ohio State?
“He will definitely be one of the top quarterbacks in the country next year,” said MaxPreps Football Editor Steve Spiewak. “He’s extremely athletic, but some people don’t realize that he’s also a very skilled passer.”
The folks at Princeton High and McKinley (Canton) certainly know that after Miller led his team to victories of 21-4 and 27-14, respectively.
Miller has thrown for 304 yards and three touchdowns against one interception.
He accounted for three touchdowns in the win over McKinley, including a 31-yard pass to Seth Stuart with 47 seconds left in the third to put his team up for good. He added a 22-yard run with 2:07 left to put the game away.
Miller leads a team No. 77 according to the MaxPreps Freeman national rankings.
His favorite target thus far has been junior tailback Stuart, who had seven catches for 95 yards and a touchdown against McKinley.
Wayne is stacked on defense, especially with the Talbott brothers. Terrence Talbott is a 5-11, 170-pound cornerback and Terry Talbott is a 6-3, 255-pound lineman. Both have committed to Michigan.
They’ll be contending with a talented Glenville team that opened the season with a tough 14-13 loss to St. Ignatius before defeating Reynoldsburg 35-14.
Glenville lost just one game last year – also by a point to St. Ignatius – and was ranked 22nd nationally in Spiewak’s preseason Xcellent 25.
Ted Ginn Sr.’ s team has loads of speed, led by running back Rob Walton, wide receivers Shane Wynn and Christian Bryant. The Tarblooders are also loaded on defense with junior Aundrey Walker (6-5, 300) and linebackers Andre Sturdivant and Devonte Morgan.
The cream of the crop is transfer LaTwan Anderson, a 5-10, 180-pound defensive back/athlete who has 20 Division I offers, including one from Cincinnati.
“We’ve accomplished what we wanted to on the field thus far with two wins,” Miller said. “But this is a big challenge. We don’t want to get beat on our home field.”
Minton said his team has responded well to all the extra Nike fanfare and game change.
“It’s a big reward for the kids to play in this kind of atmosphere,” Minton said. “This game should take us to a whole other level.”
